Edinburgh’s haunted theatres are home to chilling paranormal tales that continue to intrigue locals and visitors alike, writes JOHN S TANTALON
Edinburgh’s Haunted Theatres
On a recent visit to a local theatre, I was privileged enough to find myself not just backstage but on the actual stage itself. It was the middle of the afternoon, and the building was free of attendees; I had a private tour that day from a friend who works there.
Festival Theatre, Edinburgh
The Edinburgh Festival Theatre is in a suitably impressive location. The building has operated under its current moniker since 1994 and was previously known as The Empire. It is during this period that our story begins.
In 1911, a terrible fire engulfed the building. The finale of ‘The Lions Bride’ performed by the world-famous Great Lafayette ended in tragedy that day. The magician’s body discovered beneath the wreckage sparked a police investigation. Rings from the cadaver appeared missing. It was during the investigation that a second charred body was discovered featuring the missing rings. The first body turned out to be the magician’s stunt double. To many, the story of the Great Lafayette concluded that fatal day. To others, his performance continues today.
My friend has worked at the Festival Theatre for over 30 years. He claims to have witnessed a shadowy figure high above the stage on the lighting rig during this time. He is not the only person who claims to have seen him. A travelling medium attending a performance at the theatre asked if it would be possible to visit backstage afterwards. The woman insisted that somebody was present in the lighting platform. She believed that more than one person was present and that the shadowy figure had a wooden leg.
The Playhouse, Haunted Edinburgh Theatre
The Festival Theatre is merely one of Edinburgh’s venues for featuring ghostly tales. The Playhouse is one of the UK’s many haunted theatres. Staff members have reported seeing a man in grey known as Albert appearing on the sixth level of the theatre, accompanied by a burst of cold air. His whole identity isn’t known, but he is thought to be the ghost of a stagehand or night watchman who killed himself in the building.
Albert’s paranormal existence first came to light in the 1950s when, as one version of the story goes, theatre staff called the police for a break-in. The officer dispatched to investigate found the stage door open and went inside to check and secure the building. After a fruitless search, the constable returned to Gayfield Square police station.
On Level Six, he met an older man who introduced himself as Albert, the stage doorkeeper. The older man assured him he would lock up the premises. The next day, the policeman called into The Playhouse to ensure there had been no further problems. He told a younger staff member at the stage door that he had been summoned the night before and spoke to Albert. The ashen-faced stage doorman said that Albert had died some time previously and that the theatre had been empty all night.
The Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh
The Lyceum Theatre also has a ghost. The theatre was reportedly haunted by a woman dressed in blue who was sighted in an area above the stage. A ringing noise sometimes accompanies her. One suggestion is that the spectral figure is perhaps the famous Ellen Terry. The esteemed Dame Terry, although English, hailed from Irish and Scottish ancestry. Acting was in her blood, as many of Terry’s relatives held connections to the stage, including an ancestor of Sir John Gielgud.
Dame Ellen Terry died of a brain haemorrhage in 1928 in Kent. Relatives scattered her ashes in a Covent Garden church. The question is, how did she end up haunting the Lyceum in Edinburgh? There was a chalk statue of her in the Lyceum foyer. During WWII, the local government reclaimed the figure because of a shortage of chalk.
Authorities carelessly smashed it, and only her head survived. The tragic white head reportedly rolled around the stalls for many years. Could the ghostly appearance of a dark figure above the lighting rig be Dame Ellen? She is enraged by the callous destruction of her proud effigy so many years ago. Could there possibly be a connection with the existing head? Is she seeking the damaged piece of her statue to return to its rightful place at the theatre entrance?
The Embassy Cinema, Edinburgh
The Embassy Cinema opened in 1937 and operated within The Leith Cinema Group (State Cinema). William Albin was the Managing Director. His son, Bill, became a manager later in the history of cinema. The cinema remained in existence until the 1970s. The Embassy had fallen into disrepair following a fire on March 2, 1964. The cinema never reopened. The current owners applied for its use as a dance hall or bingo hall, but this was refused. The building was demolished in 1975, and its presence was now gone. This once grand cinema and entertainment centrepiece of the Royston area was a mere memory, but its legacy would remain.
In the late 1970s, developers converted the plot of land into a modern supermarket. The Laws Supermarket chain operated here until 1985 and developed a story or two to tell about the shop. A previous resident of the area recalls the story of a ghostly figure who would appear close to the supermarket entrance. Customers would be alerted to fingers clicking as if to catch their attention. When the responding customer would turn around to see who it was, they met with the sight of a man smiling at them, only to vanish before their eyes immediately.
In 1985, an organisation developed the shop into The William Low Supermarket chain. It did not take long for the sight of the man clicking his fingers to materialise again. The witness I spoke with recalls seeing the apparition standing at the front of the supermarket in an area surrounded by a metal railing. Customers would use the section to store cardboard boxes for customers. He would click his fingers to catch your attention and then vanish with a smile. In or around 1994, the supermarket converted to Shoprite and Kwik Save; it is unknown if the smiling spectre sightings continued.
The Embassy Cinema’s location now, the Granton Medical Centre, is unrecognisable after its years of continuously changing appearance. The witness I spoke with reckons the ghost is likely connected to the time of the cinema’s existence. The location of the barrier with the boxes provides a clue to the puzzle. The area would have sat precisely where the usher once stood at the cinema entrance. Could he continue to greet shoppers as he did when welcoming would-be cinemagoers all those years ago?
What do you think of these haunted theatre tales? Have you ever experienced anything paranormal in Edinburgh? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
